Tag Archives: coronavirus

lockdown day 27: one day at a time

09 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, sevilla

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So I have put in for what is called the “prestación extraordinaria”, for self-employed people. Apparently people on salaries are being paid 75% of their usual wages, but us autónomos just get something like 600€ a month. If eligible (still waiting on that one). And while that is better than nothing, it’s really not much. It doesn’t even cover my rent. And who knows when we will even receive it? Plus they still charged me 300€ for social security in March, so… wut? Anyhow, TONS of red tape. Well at least those guys still have a job!

I’ve really been trying to just deal with this situation one day at a time because, if not, I could end up on a very slippery slopes leading to The Depths Of Utter Despair. Once again my cancer training has come in handy, especially the finely honed living in denial skillz. Because while I did get help with covering my rent and bills this month, for which I am very grateful, this thing isn’t ending any time soon. What about next month, and six or eight months from now???? Eh, not going there. Yet. See? It almost works.

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netiquette

06 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, friends, internet, social media

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I think it’s safe to say that people are making much more use of the internet to stay in touch in these Days of Coronavirus. Aside from the usual written platforms like email, whatsapp and messenger, the video options (which I never do) such as facetime, skype and zoom are also extra popular now. And of course there are all the social media platforms. I’ve never tweeted so much since, well, ever. Honestly, if my internet connection down I don’t know what I’d do. And neither would you because I wouldn’t be able to tell you about it.

One thing I’ve been wondering about these past three weeks (okay 24 days, but who’s counting) is how netiquette has changed with this new situation. I mean other than the usual “be polite”, “never tweet drunk” and “you don’t have to post every single thought in your head”, there are probably some new unspoken guidelines that we may not know about yet because, well, nobody talks about them.

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yeah, one of THOSE days

03 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, sevilla, spain

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Had to go out for a rubbish dump run and decided – fuck it – I’d also make a quick trip to the supermarket (last one had been ten days previously). As I’ve said before, these days it feels like I’m dodging bullets at the supermarket, even though they are giving us plastic gloves while we’re there and (most) people now know to stay a hockey stick apart. But I just “needed” (okay, wanted) a few fresh things.

Anyhow, as soon as I hit the street with my trolley and a few bags of rubbish my street guy Nico (yep he’s still out there every day) saw me and came rushing over. At first I thought he was going to ask for some money, and nothing wrong with that, but he actually asked if he could help me carry my rubbish to the bins. Awwww… well obviously for money but at least he wanted to “work” for it. Let’s just say that Nico doesn’t really get the “keep two metres away” thing so I thanked him, said I was fine, and that I’d see him on my way home from shopping, after I’d had time to sort out some cash for him.

Noticed that El Corte Inglés is even more vigilent these days, or else it was a busier time of day than last time, as there was a queue outside with everyone standing 2 metres apart. When it was my turn I went in, started shopping and then started to cry. Maybe in part because such a “normal” routine had become, well, what it is now. But it actually started after I bought some swordfish from the fish guy, who was so lovely and pleasant. And I looked around and saw all the staff stocking shelves and being helpful and I looked at all the fresh produce still available and that’s when I lost it.

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it’s just a cold, right?

02 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, health & happiness, home, hope

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Exactly three weeks ago today I woke up to birdsong in the lovely guesthouse next to Bodegas Bentomiz. I also woke up with a killer sore throat that felt like I was swallowing shards of glass. Another cold? Or was it that virus we’d been hearing about? This was two days before the national lockdown so most of us still had little idea how serious the situation actually was. Anyhow, since then this “cold” has persisited, and has been having quite the journey, visiting various parts of my body. The sore throat morphed into a very sneezy sinus thing with blocked ears and tinnitus, loss of sense of smell and taste, back to the throat, then a cough (not a dry one!) with slight tightness in the chest, then whatever. I can’t remember all the pitstops it’s made. Anyhow… IT’S STILL WITH ME.

But this morning was the first time I worried because the Throat is back (really ouch!) this time with a very distinct heavy feeling lower down, just below the clavicle, and at this moment I’m not sure if the chest tightness I’m feeling is due to illness or anxiety. Still no fever though so fingers crossed.

Because I always have sinus issues going on it’s not that uncommon for a cold to take root like this and take forever to go away, but this usually happens mid-winter not spring. Meanwhile I’m keeping my hands away from my face as much as possible (seriously, not easy!) and washing the hands way more with each passing day. I’ve also stopped going to the supermarket, with my only outings a quick five minute rubbish dump every 5 days or so. And yet this damn thing persists and keeps upping its game. I’m not kidding guys, if more than a day or so goes by without a post on this silly blog of mine, please get in touch, just in case.

Stay home. Stay safe.

back to the ol’ dishwasher

01 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by in casa azahar, coronavirus, home

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For those of you who are new to my blog… yes it really is this boring! There is a reason why I slap something up here every day. And of course now I have no excuses since I’m not exactly busy doing other things. But because I’m not doing other things, obviously there are fewer things going on, and less stuff to write about. But that wont’ stop me.   😉

It’s now midway through week three of lockdown and I am back to using my dishwasher which, after a flurry of renewed activity last summer, slipped back to being just a bit of extra storage space. But I’ve been cooking so much that I can actually justify putting it on every couple of days, the only drawback being that I miss out on some extra handwashing opportunities.

I didn’t realise until now just how much I was eating out in tapas bars and so, along with my tours (which also provide a meal for me), I was only cooking at home maybe a couple times a week. So this has also reminded me of how much I love cooking. It’s become the highlight of my day, though to be honest there’s not a lot of competition in that department.

What’s become the highlight of your day?